An engagement ring is special when first given, obviously. After all, it’s a sign of love and a promise of a future together. Often, even an indication that the man has paid enough attention the likes and dislikes of the woman to be able to pick out something she likes.

In our case, we were broke college students, living on scholarships, student loans, and our parents’ good will. We had no extra money for jewelry or anything else. My husband earned the amount needed for mine by donating plasma over several months. He literally gave his bodily fluids for me. Isn’t that romantic?

And he listened. He heard me when I said I wanted a pearl (I loved the fact that pearls are what comes after irritation–a reminder that we need to make sure something good came from all our hard times). Even went above and beyond to find one with a small diamond on each side. It was perfect.

We had the wedding band special made because I wanted them to fit together, but didn’t want to diminish the importance of the wedding band with the prettiness of the engagement ring. Don’t worry. He was working by then. 😉

Over the years, my pearl has fallen off a few times. After all, it’s glued to a prong in the middle, and if the glue weakens, there goes the jewel. But we were always able to grab the pearl and have it repaired fairly quickly.

A few years ago, though, one of my diamonds disappeared. I have no idea what happened to it. I was busy that day, gardening, doing dishes, helping kids, etc. That evening, I looked down, and it was gone. The prong had caught me with a scratch and I was trying to figure out why.

It sat in its box on my dresser for a long time, as we waited for a good time to get it fixed. And while I know I don’t HAVE to have an engagement ring since I have the one that means more now, I missed it.

Well, for our anniversary this year, my husband took it in and had the diamond replaced. The ring is back on my finger, and I am getting used to having more than one there again. But every time I look down, it reminds me again of how much my husband cares for me. Not only because he had the ring fixed, but because of how he bought it in the first place. How he made sure I had something special that fit me. And how he always tries to make sure to do sweet things for me, even if it’s usually a lot less than a new diamond.

I know a lot of women like to get a new ring as they go through and rack up the years of being married, but I’m still very happy with the ring I’ve had for the last twenty-three years (we were engaged a year before we were married). I’m also still very happy with the man who gave me the ring.

How’s your ring holding up? Got any fun stories to go with how your significant other bought your jewelry? Or how many times you’ve had it fixed?